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Kolkata weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Kolkata sits deep in the Ganges delta, hot and steaming for much of the year until the monsoon breaks, with violent pre-monsoon squalls and Bay of Bengal cyclones bracketing the wet season. Kolkata weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, records and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

+1.7°Chigh above average

33° / 25°Today
31° / 24°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+0.9°Caverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–49249days above 30°C a year now (2016–2025) · 201 in the 1940sdays above 30°C · 201 in the 1940s+0.9°C vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 14 mmhigh 26°low 14°February, rain 26 mmhigh 29°low 17°March, rain 42 mmhigh 33°low 22°April, rain 76 mmhigh 36°low 25°May, rain 129 mmhigh 35°low 27°June, rain 262 mmhigh 33°low 27°July, rain 348 mmhigh 31°low 26°August, rain 319 mmhigh 31°low 26°September, rain 257 mmhigh 31°low 26°October, rain 132 mmhigh 31°low 24°November, rain 34 mmhigh 29°low 19°December, rain 13 mmhigh 26°low 14°wettest month July, 348 mm · 1,654 mm a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Clear

Right now

26.8°

31°feels like
75%humidity
22°dew point
4 km/hfrom NW
UV index0.0
sunrise05:32sunset17:14day length11h 43m
TodayMostly clear33°25°
TueMostly clear33°24°
WedPartly cloudy34°25°
ThuPartly cloudy33°26°
FriOvercast32°26°
SatMostly clear32°25°
SunMostly clear33°25°

On this date: October 12

Today (forecast)
33° / 25°
Average for October 12
31° / 24°

High above average · +1.7°C

  • Record high: 35.0° · 2023
  • Record low: 19.5° · 1944
  • One year ago: 33° / 25°

Every October 12 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 12 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for Kolkata is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 22.56°N, 88.36°E, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
22.56°N, 88.36°E
Time zone
Asia/Kolkata
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

26 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +1.0°C.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

Kolkata stands in the lower Ganges delta of eastern India, a short distance from the border with Bangladesh. Its tropical wet-and-dry climate (Köppen Aw) brings hot, sticky summers from March to June and a brief, mild winter of a couple of months. Most of the year's rain comes with the southwest monsoon between June and September, when the delta turns humid and waterlogged.

The run-up to the monsoon has a drama of its own: fierce afternoon squalls known as kal baishakhi, or Nor'westers, that roll in with sudden rain, dust and hail and a welcome break from the heat. The delta also lies squarely in the path of Bay of Bengal cyclones, which have struck devastatingly over the centuries and as recently as Cyclone Amphan in 2020.

May brings the year's peak warmth, with afternoons typically reaching 35.2°C and nights around 26.8°C. At the other extreme, January brings afternoon highs of about 25.9°C and typical overnight lows of 13.6°C.

Kolkata picks up roughly 1,654 mm a year, with a peak of 348 mm in July and as little as 13 mm in December.

The record here starts in 1940, and since then the annual mean in Kolkata has climbed 0.9°C from the first ten years to the last ten. The year-by-year charts below trace that shift in detail.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgbritannica.commausam.imd.gov.in

Climate graph (climograph)

May is the warmest month, January the coolest: a yearly swing of 11°C. Wettest month: July (~348 mm). Whole year averages ~1,654 mm of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

Kolkata month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Record high/low are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainDaylightRecord highRecord low
January25.9°13.6°14 mm10.8 h32.3° (1946)7.7° (2013)
February29.0°16.7°26 mm11.2 h36.9° (1942)8.7° (1974)
March33.4°21.6°42 mm11.8 h41.9° (1955)13.0° (1979)
April35.6°25.3°76 mm12.5 h44.0° (1954)17.5° (1990)
May35.2°26.8°129 mm13.1 h45.0° (1957)21.4° (1987)
June33.2°27.1°262 mm13.4 h44.5° (1945)22.6° (1961)
July31.3°26.5°348 mm13.3 h37.6° (1982)24.0° (1981)
August31.2°26.3°319 mm12.8 h36.1° (2011)23.3° (1976)
September31.1°25.8°257 mm12.1 h36.3° (2015)22.2° (1940)
October30.5°23.6°132 mm11.5 h35.7° (2018)15.7° (1954)
November28.6°18.6°34 mm10.9 h33.7° (2009)11.6° (1943)
December26.2°14.4°13 mm10.6 h31.5° (1944)8.4° (1966)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +0.9°C.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.10°C per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Sep–Nov is warming fastest: +0.24°C per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 30°C per year: 201.2 early in the record → 249.1 recently. Frost days: 0 → 0.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

All-time high in 1957, all-time low in 2013: 45.0°C / 7.7°C.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~1,654 mm/year on average. Last decade: +4% vs that average. Long-term trend: −13 mm per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about Kolkata

Which is the warmest month in Kolkata?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Kolkata is May (mean daily temperature of about 30.4°C) and the coolest is January (about 19.1°C).
How does today's temperature in Kolkata compare to the historical average?
On October 12, 2026, Kolkata is forecast to reach a high of 32.9°C and a low of 24.9°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 31.2°C and a low of 24.4°C, so today's high is 1.7°C warmer than that average.
How much has Kolkata warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Kolkata is about 0.9°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Kolkata?
Kolkata receives about 1,654 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with July typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Kolkata?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Kolkata is about 26.1°C. The warmest month is May and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in Kolkata by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Kolkata (°C, full record since 1940): January 26°/14°, February 29°/17°, March 33°/22°, April 36°/25°, May 35°/27°, June 33°/27°, July 31°/26°, August 31°/26°, September 31°/26°, October 31°/24°, November 29°/19°, December 26°/14°.
What is the weather like in Kolkata in summer?
June to August is summer in Kolkata, and it is wet and hot. Daytime highs sit at 31–33°C and nights at 26–27°C; June is the warmest month. About 310 mm of rain a month. It is the wettest season of the year.
What is the weather like in Kolkata in winter?
In winter, December through February, Kolkata is dry and warm. Afternoons run 26–29°C and nights 14–17°C; January is the coldest month. Rain rises from 13 mm in December to 26 mm in February. It is the driest season of the year.
What is the weather like in Kolkata in spring?
March to May is spring in Kolkata, and it is hot. Expect 33–36°C by day and 22–27°C at night, with April the warmest month. Rain picks up through the season, 42 mm in March to 129 mm in May.
What is the weather like in Kolkata in autumn?
Autumn in Kolkata (September to November) is wet and hot. Daytime highs sit at 29–31°C and nights at 19–26°C; November is the coldest month. Rain eases through the season, 257 mm in September to 34 mm in November.

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